by Dennis "dSource" Guillermo

Manny Pacquiao officially made his Philippine professional basketball debut in a pre-season game between expansion teams KIA Sorentos and Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Saturday in Biñan, Laguna.

The 8-division boxing world champion and Sarangani Province Representative, tallied 1 point on 0-for-2 from the field, 1 rebound and 2 turnovers in about 10 minutes of playing time for the KIA team.

Pacquiao, who is also the head coach of his team, can be seen in this Instagram clip showing off his handles against Blackwater's Chris Timberlake with a crossover followed by a behind-the-back dribble, only to be stripped off the ball as the crowd cheered on.

Pacquiao, who selected himself with his team's first pick (11th overall) in the 2014 PBA rookie draft, vowed to play in his team's first regular season game despite his upcoming bout in Macau, China against Chris Algieri on November 22. He did allude that he won't play significant minutes.

“Lalaro ako sa opening para ma-inspire yung team ko (I will play in our opener, so I can inspire my team),” Pacquiao was quoted after the game by Spin.ph.

Follow Dennis Guillermo on Twitter @ dRealSource